Twinbeech Capital LP Decreases Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Twinbeech Capital LP trimmed its holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 69.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 26,333 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 59,455 shares during the period. Twinbeech Capital LP’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $4,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in AMETEK by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 313,900 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $56,584,000 after purchasing an additional 6,400 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 12,398 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,235,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in AMETEK by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,794 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in AMETEK by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 139,654 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,172,000 after buying an additional 9,032 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in AMETEK by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,387,670 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $250,142,000 after acquiring an additional 194,635 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Price Performance

AME opened at $180.72 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $41.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.93. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.02 and a 12-month high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.06. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. AMETEK’s payout ratio is currently 20.29%.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total transaction of $125,414.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AME shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. StockNews.com raised AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $212.00 price target on shares of AMETEK in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.10.

About AMETEK

AMETEK, Inc manufactures and sells electronic instruments and electromechanical devices in the North America, Europe, Asia, and South America, and internationally. The company's EIG segment offers advanced instruments for the process, aerospace, power, and industrial markets; process and analytical instruments for the oil and gas, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, automation, and food and beverage industries; instruments to the laboratory equipment, ultra-precision manufacturing, medical, and test and measurement markets; power quality monitoring and c devices, uninterruptible power supplies, programmable power and electromagnetic compatibility test equipment, and sensors for gas turbines and dashboard instruments; heavy trucks, instrumentation, and controls for the food and beverage industries; and aircraft and engine sensors, power supplies, embedded computing, monitoring, fuel and fluid measurement, and data acquisition systems for aerospace and defense industry.